Text Size Adjuster: 18px 21 Feb 2026 00:06:01 In order to view all of today's banter, you may have to visit our Liverpool banter 2 to Liverpool banter 10 pages linked at the bottom of this page.
20 Feb 2026 21:25:43
Allison, nicol, hansen, lawerson, beglin, Souness, Gerrard, molby, Barnes, Kenny, rush. Subs: grobelaar, virgil, beardsley, Aldridge, whelan, Gillespie, robbo, fowler and salah
Just reminiscing about teams and players past and present. My all time squad. Probably left out some world class players, but off the top of my head, this is it for me.
20 Feb 2026 22:27:19
Phil Neal, 8 League titles, 4 European Cups. Never injured. 2 goals in European Finals from right back.
2
20 Feb 2026 23:26:01
Phil Neal gets into anybody's all-time LFC 11. If not, then you don't know what he was capable of or achieved. No one else comes near as a starter.
1
20 Feb 2026 22:58:40
One player that will never make an all time Liverpool team is Suarez due to him having the moral compass of an alley cat. The guy would unplug your life support machine to charge his phone.
But as far as quality and ability to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and win it on his own he for me was world class.
20 Feb 2026 19:06:16
Ed001 did you see Slota press conference yesterday?
I see he said we will be better now than before as our fitness levels are better, I find that very strange thing to say because he is admitting the players have only just got up to speed.
I would think that his is job in preseason to get them there or at least 85/ 90 % there and the last bit in the first few games not half way through the season.
Hopefully we are now fully fit and as teams tire toward the end of the season maybe we can come on and push for champions league title.
I don't know if am just hoping things change for the last part of a very poor season that started full of hope with the players we signed.
2
{Ed001's Note - I don't watch pressers.}
1
20 Feb 2026 20:20:37
I saw it. That part absolutely infuriated me. This just confirms all of our suspicions regarding the blatant lack of fitness in the squad. We've all seen most of the players struggle beyond 70 minutes. Some of us have been baffled, some of us suspicious, and some of us have made nonsense excuses about "saving energy for the latter half of the season". 7 months in and we're finally fit? For a Premier League manager to even suggest such a thing is a sackable offence in itself. How is that acceptable by any means? I swear, every other presser he says something that reveals another reason he's completely incapable.
Why has it taken 7 months to get a group of professional athletes match fit? There's only 1 reason, a massive oversight in terms of conditioning. I don't care whether it was completely accidental or some whacky plan to "avoid burnout". It's unacceptable. It's 2025 not 1925, we know exactly how fit you need to be, the metrics are all there. We were the number 1 team in terms of fitness under Klopp, all the stats are in the system, and there's absolutely no excuse. I don't care if he wins the Champions League, the incompetence is unbearable. Send him on the first plane back come June.
2
20 Feb 2026 20:45:03
How can he think this is a good thing to say? We are at the end of February and we are just getting started. He's just given them another week off. It really beggars belief.
1
20 Feb 2026 21:31:34
I'm not making excuses. I don't know the ins and outs of our training (I know it's been mentioned that the intensity isn't the same as it was under Klopp), but Jota's tragic passing had a massive impact on our pre-season, so to me it's fully understandable that our fitness would be affected.
I think another major factor that does fall on Slott is the fact we celebrated the title win too early; the trip to Ibiza, whilst the season was still being played, was the wrong choice and has had a really negative knock-on effect on the squad.
1
20 Feb 2026 21:33:04
Pre-season was disrupted, though, and it wasn't Slot's fault.
3
20 Feb 2026 21:43:21
It's incredible how we won those first 7 games with mostly late winners or comebacks, and then the lack of fitness and grief kicked in during September, disappeared for Real, Villa etc, only to kick in again during November with us having a disrupted pre-season. Beggars belief.
3
20 Feb 2026 21:55:14
I don't understand why people find that so hard to grasp, Patrick and Ron. It's fairly obvious when a member of the squad tragically dies a few days before pre-season starts, you're not going to get people doing the bleep test on the first day back.
In fact, pre-season probably didn't start in earnest until a few weeks, or even a month, after they came back, if they even had a pre-season at all. How can Slot force grieving players into a full pre-season program? It's not excuses, it's just how it is.
4
20 Feb 2026 22:41:30
I predict we're going to be fully fit just before we play the Champions League final.
20 Feb 2026 18:32:37
Looking ahead to Sunday and how you see it going?
I don't care about performance now tbh it's the time of season where we need to battle it out and fight for the points, we've been suspect which is an understatement in these sort of games this season which has cost us dearly but with Chelsea's game looking like 3 points for them we need to keep in touch!
I think Villa will drop more points tomorrow and I can see the boys in blue taking more points off UTd?
With that in mind I'll be more than happy with a repeat of the Sunderland performance and result.
1
20 Feb 2026 18:58:52
Br, I am the same to a certain point, but we have had wins without performances being great, and I think we need both now, as the performances will increase confidence.
0
20 Feb 2026 19:02:50
Be a tough game, mate. Hopefully we turn up.
1
20 Feb 2026 19:13:44
We've struggled against Forest in recent times. The last 4 fixtures have seen us win 1, draw 1, and lose 2. In the last 8 since their promotion back into the top flight, we have won 4, lost 3, and drawn 1. Definitely not a fixture we find easy.
0
20 Feb 2026 19:43:16
All about the points, performances are secondary at this stage.
0
20 Feb 2026 20:04:32
They just had an away European midweek fixture, so hopefully we will be fresher.
1
20 Feb 2026 20:05:12
I read somewhere recently that of the last 15 league games we have played at Forest we've only won 1!I'm not sure if that is accurate, but if it is, that is unbelievable. V difficult game, I feel. Looking at Forest's result Thurs, I think they're getting the new manager 'bounce' and they also have some excellent players, Anderson, Gibbs-White and the 2 cbs.
Hopefully the long trek to Turkey Thurs has taken a bit out of them. We need to win for the 3pts and, just as importantly, to keep the wee bit of momentum we have going.
0
20 Feb 2026 20:21:43
The past doesn't matter. Turn up, play the way we know we can, and we win.
0
20 Feb 2026 20:30:48
The past doesn't matter. Try telling that to Prince Andrew WDW. 🤣
3
20 Feb 2026 20:31:07
I think a lot will ride on the first goal, and, if we score it, how well we deal with the following 20 minutes. If we score first and immediately pile on the pressure and attempt to secure a quick second, I think we do the business. Anything outside of that will see us struggle.
Forest have our number, so Slot needs to employ some more direct football. If we go out there playing the ball sideways all day, and expecting it to magically find its way into the back of the net, we'll find ourselves in trouble.
1
20 Feb 2026 22:42:09
I'd love to have the opportunity to tell him @JK.
He's nowhere near the sharpest tool in the box - a staggeringly entitled creature whose lack of intelligence and pathetic lies are finally catching up with him.
Not a fan of royalty - a bunch of parasites who sponge a living from the 'royal purse' - but he really does take the biscuit.
20 Feb 2026 13:26:16
Thiago is part of the legends team in March
He really loves our club.
11
20 Feb 2026 13:55:32
One of the best players I've ever seen in a Liverpool shirt. Shame we didn't win more while he was around.
8
20 Feb 2026 14:23:22
Just imagine what we could have achieved if he could have kept fit. What a player.
6
20 Feb 2026 14:33:50
Assistant coach for Xabi Alonso next season?
15
20 Feb 2026 14:34:56
Fowler _9, yes. Thiago loved the club. He was getting paid a fortune and was always injured, but when fit, he was a class act. YNWA.
3
20 Feb 2026 16:06:07
One of the worst signings we ever made. He took us for a ride, on the sick for almost all of his contract, collecting £££££££££'s. He saw us coming.
6
20 Feb 2026 16:16:07
True story. Thiago played 98 more times for Liverpool than I did, despite being on the sick for almost his whole contract. Quality player to watch, sadly. I think we signed him too late in his career, when his body was failing him.
5
20 Feb 2026 16:40:48
A joy to watch, technically the best player seen in a Liverpool shirt. It was a shame his body kept failing.
2
20 Feb 2026 16:46:07
My mate does some charity work down by Chinatown (some sort of play area, I think). Thiago and his kid came across it. He ended up funding an overhaul of some sort out of the goodness of his heart. That's what footballers should be about, not big jeeps and getting told where to go by sponsors for publicity. Great footballer, even better human.
9
20 Feb 2026 16:54:03
Cracking story that John. 👏
4
20 Feb 2026 17:32:13
Magnificent footballer when fit and playing in the right position.
1
20 Feb 2026 17:50:15
Although I agree, in hindsight it was a terrible signing when you factor in his availability. I don't think we can really blame Thiago for having so many injuries. He clearly tried his best to be fit, and always gave it his all when he was. Incredible player to watch on his day; his days were few and far between, sadly.
3
20 Feb 2026 18:43:35
I don't think it's any coincidence that when we did get Thiago fit and available for 6 months r so, we went on that charge for the quad. Not sure how many games in a row we won in 4 competitions, but it was a serious run. I think a big part of that was Thiago was fit and flying at the time.
If memory serves me right, he got a late niggle of some sort just before the Champions League final, and I don't think he was right for the game, which was the 1st we had lost in ages.
3
20 Feb 2026 18:58:02
One day there will be a charity game and Mane, Firmino and Salah will be upfront. Hopefully all wearing number 20. It will be an emotional day.
3
20 Feb 2026 20:35:49
Absolutely phenomenal player. Made it look far too easy. Very unfortunate how injuries affected the latter stages of his career. What a signing he would have been had we brought him in during his prime.
19 Feb 2026 13:19:38
I've also watched a big match revisited recently. Kenny in midfield fairclough and Johnson up front. Vs crystal palace. Nil nil but highly entertaining. I'd forgotten how skilful super sub was but no stamina. Faded completely after about 70 minutes.
3
19 Feb 2026 15:38:22
To be fair, Super Sub probably wasn't used to playing 70 minutes. Quality player from the bench. 👌
4
19 Feb 2026 16:30:47
St Etienne, that's all! 👌
12
19 Feb 2026 17:22:38
One of the greatest nights in our history, Hero H.
12
19 Feb 2026 21:30:11
Great, great atmosphere that night.
4
20 Feb 2026 06:02:35
The atmosphere was better against Barnsley, Forest and PSV, as Rome1977! said.
0
20 Feb 2026 06:59:27
Absolutely, Barnsey! Those 3 games will live on in the memory!
0
20 Feb 2026 12:34:11
St Etienne. Brought a few memories back. I think I was in 2nd year juniors n my classmate got on the pitch n his face was all over the TV that night. The teacher, saying the next day, 'Shouldn't you have been in bed?' I'll have to have a word with your parents. Hahah.
4
20 Feb 2026 16:33:35
Allez les verts alkez les rouges.
19 Feb 2026 13:07:12
Mr Alonso has rejected Marseille.
2
19 Feb 2026 13:35:04
"Hello Mr. Extremely Highly Rated Young Manager being linked with Man City and Liverpool, would you like to manage our Team Evil concept to try and overhaul PSG in our ludicrously non competitive league?" I can't say his answer surprises me.
15
19 Feb 2026 13:47:44
I just can't watch Slot's interviews anymore. It is just horrible having this guy as manager. Fingers crossed he isn't here next season, so we can actually enjoy football again.
5
19 Feb 2026 15:43:42
Yep, cos it's all about the interviews.
15
19 Feb 2026 16:04:14
Bekind, OM is a poisoned chalice at the moment, so not surprised at all.
1
19 Feb 2026 16:46:41
I dunno, I quite enjoy watching us play lately.
9
19 Feb 2026 16:49:06
Does it matter what he does or says in interviews? Last time I checked, it's what happens at the end of a match that matters. I'll ask again - would you rather LFC win a match/title with the worst, most tedious football ever, or watch a team play like 1970 Brazil/Netherlands 1974/LFC 1988 and lose?
7
19 Feb 2026 17:36:47
If he isn't here next season, it will likely mean we're not in the CL. So, on that basis, I hope he is here next season.
10
19 Feb 2026 21:37:22
I would say only winning the CL would possibly save him. Qualification should be a bare minimum.
1
19 Feb 2026 23:28:27
I'm confused by your post, ShiningSlots. "Only winning the CL will save him, but qualification should be a bare minimum." That doesn't make sense.
4
20 Feb 2026 06:04:31
A few blue jokes in his interviews and a decent chant about him will save him.
3
20 Feb 2026 22:45:07
@Lucas, just don't watch his prezzies.
19 Feb 2026 08:37:13
Just found an episode of "The Big Match" on ITVX.
It was Ipswich v Liverpool from 1980 and I'd forgotten how much the game has changed. Phil Neal 'clotheslined' an Ipswich player and not even carded. An offside wasn't proceeded by every defender raising an arm in the air. Tough tackles followed by a handshake, no play acting and none of my pet hate - players claiming a throw-in even though the ball clearly bounced off them.
No VAR, no endless betting adverts.
Some things have changed for the better; vastly better playing surfaces and stadia. The backpass rule, more than one sub.
I'm not sure the balloon-like ball of the modern game makes for better football than the old casey though.
Fter the game Paisley was quoted as saying "I shot 2 of my players at half time', I wonder what the modern players and press would have made of that?
There was an honesty about this era, an honest game for the working class. It's pretty sad to see how the modern game shapes ip against this era.
19
{Ed025's Note - halcyon days indeed Willo, now its all about who has the longest throw and all in wrestling at corners it seems mate..
23
19 Feb 2026 10:02:38
To be fair, if that's what people want to watch, they can always go and support their local non-league side or bottom-end football league side. The game is still there for the working class if they choose it. The upper echelons of the sport have pulled away, but as long as fans keep subscribing to Sky/TNT/Amazon and paying £50-2000 a ticket, on top of £120-270 for a replica shirt etc.
The Premier League/Championship sides will keep milking it. I love going and playing Sunday League personally, and that keeps me in touch with the grassroots side of the game. 10:30am KO, minimum 5 goals in every game, in the pub by 1pm with all the lads. Now that's an affordable way to get your football fix.
21
{Ed025's Note - great stuff MK..
8
19 Feb 2026 11:32:56 MK, I am 51 now and still miss playing Saturday afternoon 2pm kick off, straight out on the piss. Wake up Sunday morning rough as f***, kick off 10:30, sweat the booze out and straight in the local club for a good few beers, a few games of killer on the pool table, home for a Sunday roast and the 4:30 kick off.
If Carlsberg did weekends, I'd love to go back to them.
17
{Ed025's Note - a man after my own heart Grino mate..
6
19 Feb 2026 11:59:49
Grino, you just described every weekend of my life from 27-30 years old! Those were the days. I'm only a couple of years away from Vets football now, where my knees truly belong.
7
19 Feb 2026 12:18:53
MK, I did that from 19 to 32. Both knees and ankles are knackered. I've got a broken bone in my wrist because I took the cast off so I could keep playing. From Monday to Wednesday I could barely walk, and then Wednesday and Thursday nights we had training. Then it was the weekend again. lol, I've got the body of an 80-year-old, and yet I've still got the mentality of a 12-year-old, lol.
The good old days, I would not swap them for anything.Ed025, I am from Grimsby and before my disabled son got too much for my wife to look after on her own I always got tickets for the European games and a few league games when possible. I always stayed over for the night. My daughter was at uni in Liverpool, she is working there now, and I always went to The Royal Oak Hotel for a few games of pool.
6
{Ed025's Note - you are basically living my life Grino.. :)
2
19 Feb 2026 12:52:18
That's a long old stint doing 2 games in back to back days, Grino! I was broken after doing it for 3 years, never mind 13 years! I'm 32 now and currently playing with a pin/synthetic ligament in my right elbow, loose cartilage in my right knee, and my left ankle fully strapped up with sport tape. I plan to keep playing until my body or my wife stops me, though.
Haha. I did play from 11 to 21 years old as well, but had to quit for 6 years due to a really nasty ankle ligament injury that took years to heal without help from fancy surgeons like the pros get. That's the same ankle I still have to strap up, 11 years after the injury. Why do we do it? For the love of the game. And the beers. Don't forget the beers.
5
19 Feb 2026 13:37:07
You are all light weights. I did it from 19 to 41 every weekend. Then, wife and kids came along. 😀 😀
1
19 Feb 2026 13:49:07
My wife had a word with me, MK, but it was when I went working away for 6 months with no football at all. Then, when I came back, I signed for a load of lads I've known for years, played a preseason friendly, came on after about 30 minutes, and everywhere the ball was, I was not. I've always been really fit, but my legs had gone. I could have probably got a lot of the fitness back, but I just didn't have it in me to be that far off the pace, so after about 15 minutes I told them to sub me off and said, "That's it for me, I'm retiring," lol.
I always played for the love of the game, but I could not stand losing and did not like not being able to do what I used to. It's why I never got into golf, tried it but was crap, and could not be bothered to learn when lots of my mates were already very good.
4
19 Feb 2026 14:41:44
Great conversation, lads! I'm like you, Grino. I played since the age of 9, but when I got into my mid 30s I'd gone from a marauding, goal-scoring right winger to a bit-part, limping left back, with the 18-year-old right wingers running rings around me. That was enough for me. I can't stand losing, and the frustration of having players who, in my mind, were nowhere near as good as I had been in my pomp, running me ragged caused me to call it a day.
I tried golf too and got frustrated, so packed it in, but I came back to it about 5 years ago and am now a single handicapper. You should persevere, mate. It's definitely worth it, and helps with that competitive nature we all have as ex-footballers.
1
19 Feb 2026 16:52:43
Let's all meet up and have a kick about on Maiden Lane Field on Townsend Lane.
2
19 Feb 2026 18:16:34
Kick off on Saturday afternoon was 3 o'clock, not 2. After a 10-minute interval, most games finished around 20 to 5. There was no massive added time, as time wasting was hardly a thing back then.
0
19 Feb 2026 20:47:27
We need to have a golf day for us old codgers.
1
{Ed025's Note - im in Ron, can we make it Texas scramble though so us lesser lights dont make a show of ourselves mate?.. :)
1
19 Feb 2026 21:10:45
I'm now 57 and still play 2, sometimes 3 times a week, 6 aside and 8 aside on a bigger pitch. Throw in the odd charity game, on a full-size pitch. The competition is good, ex NIFL, ex amateur league players and police, with a smattering of younger lads for the running.
A very healthy kitty for at least 4 free nights out a year. I always say it's not the playing that kills you, it's when you stop.
1
{Ed025's Note - you are a better man than me Irish, my old legs are gone mate so i could only do the Jan Molby role nowadays.. :)
1
20 Feb 2026 03:44:59
Bringing me back, lads. The pints after were just as important! I'm 50 in March. I stopped playing about 8 years ago, when the 2 older kids started doing stuff on weekends (4 now), and work left no time! Still telling myself I'll go back!
0
20 Feb 2026 05:56:22
I used to play Saturday and Sunday league matches (pub would register me as a diff player ;) on the Sunday). Regularly included a 4 mile bike ride to the games and back. I stopped playing when my eyesight deteriorated (computers/shortsighted) - if you can't judge the flight of the ball within a second or two from kick-off. Then, as a central midfielder, you're 10 yards away from the challenge.
If I couldn't be competitive, then I wasn't prepared to play. :). Played 5 a side until I was mid 40. Won a few things, loved playing against the younger teams. My football "brain" versus their legs. 58 now, knees shot and about 3 stone over where I'd like to be. So miss those days playing. :(
1
20 Feb 2026 08:53:33
I miss those days playing Sunday league football in my team's 3rds, then played Saturday league football for the 2nds if they needed an extra player. I wasn't great, but just loved playing. Playing a game, at half-time the guys would have a drink of water and a smoke, then back into the second half.
Usually a few arguments, rough tackles, and some threats that I would have my legs broken if I went past an opposition player. Then into the pub for some food and drink, then home for Sunday dinner. I did that from 16 to 34, but like others, my knees are shot now. I wouldn't have changed it for the world though.
1
20 Feb 2026 10:26:56
I played at thirteen in youth league, and had a break after injury. I came back at 17, playing until my last game at 50. Paying for it now, though, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I was picked for a league representative side at 39; could get a look in when in my teens or 20s.
I met some great lads from all around the area I live, and I am still mates with them to this day. The biggest thing I miss most is the banter in the changing rooms and a bevy after the match. Great times. YNWA
1
{Ed025's Note - i was playing in the Bootle Joc at 15 Albey and take it from me them players took no prisoners then mate, played Saturday and Sunday every season and trained midweek but when i look back i was very selfish as it was to the detriment of my young family, there was a very strong social side and in the summer i played cricket weekends and midweek and of course it always ended with a drinking session, a great time for me but not so much my wife and kids..
1
20 Feb 2026 10:57:16
I'm lucky enough to still be playing and have had the privilege of sharing the pitch with my 16-year-old son 6 times this season for the seconds team. Unfortunately, he's excelled and is now playing first-team football, so my playing days are now mostly following around, watching him.
19 Feb 2026 08:38:33
The best thing about this table is that we are top of it. The second best thing about it is that Everton have played 384 more games than us, but are still 412 points behind us.
3
{Ed025's Note - its quite sad actually MK that your second best memory in football is to see Everton not doing very well mate, and you have the cheek to call us "bitter"...but everyone to their own i suppose..
9
19 Feb 2026 09:06:52
Forgive me, what am I looking at? How have we played the same number of matches as Arsenal, but fewer than Everton? I'm obviously being thick, so forgive me.
1
{Ed025's Note - you were in the second division for a long while Rome, when football was good you were the equivalent of Tranmere mate.. :)
1
19 Feb 2026 09:19:22
Rome, it's the all-time top-flight league table. Many of these tables only include results after 1992 because it suits the agenda of Manchester United fans. Obviously, we spent some time in the second tier before Shankly saved us, hence why Everton have played more games.
2
19 Feb 2026 09:22:31
Is this a rabble starting in 1880, odd? The difference in games would be teams having fewer games due to relegation. Everton haven't been relegated for ever. Always the bridesmaid, eh @25?
2
{Ed025's Note - never being relegated does not make us bridesmaids WDW, it makes us the perfect marriage mate sticking together through thick and thin, for better or worse.. :)
1
19 Feb 2026 10:01:41
I believe this table is not accurate. I think it is based on 3 points for a win for all games, although for many years it was 2 points for a win. So Liverpool's actual points total is actually 6220, according to Football Rates website. Sorry to be pedantic.
2
19 Feb 2026 10:04:52
Ed025, to be fair, a lot of my favourite recent memories in football involve seeing Richarlison booked for celebrating, only to still lose to us in the end. So maybe I am getting bitter in my old age!
1
{Ed025's Note - i think you are MK, but all,s fair in love and football mate and a bit of friendly rivalry never hurt anybody in my book.. :)
2
19 Feb 2026 10:11:55
MK Scouser, For context, Everton have 5701 points and are actually 519 points adrift of Liverpool. But if that makes you happy, so be it.
0
19 Feb 2026 09:39:21
Morning Ed025. We were promoted to the old first division the year I was born! My confusion is, Arsenal, along with Everton, have never been out of the top flight, so how have Everton played over 300 games more?
1
{Ed025's Note - im not sure mate, we were founded in 1878 and the reds in 1892 but im not sure if that is the difference Rome?..
0
19 Feb 2026 09:42:43
Ed25 when we were in the second division what were you winning?
1
{Ed025's Note - football matches in the top tier Albey.. :)
1
19 Feb 2026 10:29:44
Not sure either, Ed. Hope you're well, mate. Bet your golf clubs are covered in cobwebs! This weather's depressing me!
0
{Ed025's Note - i has a knock the other day Rome and it was awful mate, no buggies so i really struggled wading through the mud, im good my friend and hope i find you well too..
0
19 Feb 2026 10:32:40
Rome, I think you will find both Everton and Arsenal have been relegated for a small number of years.
0
19 Feb 2026 10:33:47
Ed025, That did make me chuckle.
0
{Ed025's Note - cheers Gaga..
0
19 Feb 2026 09:55:15
Esp. the "Worse" part, Ed25.
0
19 Feb 2026 11:12:01
Gaga, you are spot on, mate. I was always of the belief that Everton and Arsenal hadn't been out of the top flight. I just realised that Everton were in the old 2nd Division in the early 50s. That shows my ignorance. I think the stat is that Arsenal and Everton have the longest run in top flight football. Followed by us.
1
19 Feb 2026 11:58:15
I think both Arsenal and Everton were relegated for a couple of years, which wouldn't account for the large difference in games. I believe Everton have been around longer than Arsenal. If they were established about 10 years before Arsenal, it would explain the difference in the number of games played.
18 Feb 2026 22:19:12
Looks like, definitely maybe, but let's commend Owen Goal, who's having a storming season for them. He's their third leading scorer.
11
18 Feb 2026 22:21:35
Cmon, the Villa. 😮🤪
9
18 Feb 2026 22:21:57
They are doing the worst thing possible, which is giving City a sniff. At this stage of the season, City chasing is a different beast. Yes, City have problems. But Arsenal could go into the NLD with a buffer of two.
That will be a whole different type of pressure, and the next few games will be very telling. It's just incredibly annoying that we aren't in the conversation!
9
18 Feb 2026 22:28:47
Exactly, Wy. Arsenal and City are not all; we should be up there with them, at the very least. I've always expected Arsenal to fall away. I've said all season they won't score enough goals from open play to win enough games. They will draw too many. The question is, are City good enough to punish them for it? I have doubts about that, too.
6
18 Feb 2026 22:54:11
I'd be more than happy to see the set-piece heroes flunk it.
10
18 Feb 2026 23:25:22
😂 It would be funny if Arteta blows it again.
13
19 Feb 2026 00:14:14
I said all along they won't win it. He's too cowardly in his football. Also, Saka is very good, but insanely overrated. It's good to see someone else challenge City while we're not up to it, though. The quality of football globally right now is the worst in my memory.
11
19 Feb 2026 00:38:42
Imagine what we should have done with this league.
6
19 Feb 2026 06:20:28
I'd much rather see Villa win it over Arsenal or City.
13
19 Feb 2026 06:55:48
It's incredible they're even still in it. There was a time when we'd win 15 games in a row, draw one, season over.
6
19 Feb 2026 08:01:30
This is why Slot got to go at the end of the season. We should be running away with this league with the points we have chucked away against teams near the bottom of the league.
9
19 Feb 2026 09:20:24
In fairness the league is more competitive now. Even the bottom 3 teams have been giving everyone a game since Christmas. Some of the teams in midtable in England would walk into the Champions League spots in Spain, Germany, France, and Italy.
3
{Ed025's Note - more competitive or the biggest load of crap ever played on a football field FM?, i think the standard is poor and maybe even a worse standard than when you won it last season...if thats at all possible mate..
2
19 Feb 2026 09:24:52
Like Arsenal against Wolves, eh, @Grino? The league has been poor for a couple of years now. Most teams are as bad as each other, and some are worse.
4
{Ed025's Note - i agree..
0
19 Feb 2026 09:40:03
League is certainly more boring. The fact teams play not to lose does kind of make it more competitive, but not in a good way.
4
19 Feb 2026 09:56:23
Bristol_Red, I'll get the popcorn ready if you bring the cans.
1
19 Feb 2026 13:21:43
You're on, Oli! I know we shouldn't gloat, as we've been truly awful this season, but they really are a horrible club! Would dearly love to see them end up pot-less this season.
2
19 Feb 2026 15:19:45
The standard of football, especially in the Premier League, has been dropping for quite a while. Klopp's team and Pep's team were exceptional when they were really at it, but the level of quality of players now is very poor. Where are all the stars? We have the most money and wages over here, but the players of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s were much better than what is around now.
Football tactics may have stifled them, with strikers being turned into forwards. It is a poor league, with big teams getting worse, which has made the league more competitive at least, but the overall quality is sliding drastically.
4
{Ed025's Note - spot on for me Magico..
0
19 Feb 2026 21:15:39
Well they've taken the creativity away from all the players. They're like robots, sticking to orders, and probably scared of doing anything too different, so they don't get dropped to the bench. Boring football.
1
{Ed025's Note - hard to argue with that Greg..
0
19 Feb 2026 23:26:44
It's very difficult to say the quality of the Premier League is poor when we've got 6 teams in the last 16 of the Champions League. 5 of the top 8 in the league phase were from the Premier League, which shows the quality is much better than any other team in Europe.
What we have is a crisis in playing style, but it is effective. Very boring and very negative, but teams are hard to score against and score a lot from set pieces and long throws.
1
20 Feb 2026 10:37:35
The way players are coached today brought back a memory of a Souness story. He said when he signed for LFC, in his first game, in the changing rooms he pulled Big Joe Fagan and said nobody has told me what to do or where to play, and Big Joe replied, 'We paid £350 grand for you and you want us to tell you how to play.' That is coaching at its best.
18 Feb 2026 19:45:18
I can see Dom going to RM as apparently the new RB they brought in last year is not up to scratch.
11
18 Feb 2026 20:33:55
No returns. They can keep the rat Arnold.
10
18 Feb 2026 21:54:00
I agree, Victor.
10
18 Feb 2026 22:46:25
Victor, if Trent was still here we would be in a three-horse race with City and Arsenal.
6
19 Feb 2026 06:22:38
Trent's a good player, but I'm not sure him being here this season would have helped our defensive woes, especially at set pieces. One of those ones we'll never actually know.
5
19 Feb 2026 06:24:29
After a couple of injuries, it looks like Trent is starting to play very well for Madrid.
2
19 Feb 2026 06:40:58
Agree, Livered, particularly the past 4 or 5 games. I hold no grudges toward the lad, however unpopular that opinion may be.
9
19 Feb 2026 09:57:22
Spot on, ViktorVaughan. No take-backs. They wanted him. He wanted them. A match made in heaven, and they should keep it that way.
2
20 Feb 2026 10:42:01
Trent is class. What does everyone think of him? I must admit he frustrated me when he was with us, but I have to be honest, we have missed his passing ability. Would I have him back? Yes, I would. The lad deserves a second chance after what he helped the club win and for being at the club for 20 years. YNWA.
{Ed001's Note - I don't watch pressers.}
{Ed025's Note - halcyon days indeed Willo, now its all about who has the longest throw and all in wrestling at corners it seems mate..
